Ma'chello Strikes Again
by BoomerCat
Summary: Season Six. Ma'chello has always been bad news as far as Jack O'Neill is concerned. Today's mission is no different.


_Author's Note: This is my attempt at a 'little verse' story wherein a character through some means is reverted to childhood. Most of these stories have a very high 'cute' factor. After all, what could be cuter than a pint-sized Daniel Jackson. Sadly, I don't do cute..._

Colonel Jack O'Neill sat back, soaking up the warm sun. To an onlooker, he looked relaxed, half asleep. But nothing could be further from the truth. Jack had not become the leader of Stargate Command's flagship team because he took chances.

SG1 had been caught with their guard down a few times and were lucky to have survived. Jack had taken the lessons to heart, and even though this world had not been visited by the Goa'uld for several decades, and the people were merry and friendly, Jack had ordered his team to be cautious and watch their backs.

Teal'c and Carter had simply acknowledged the order. Jonas Quinn, still new to the team had frowned, looking around at the smiling faces of the locals, but in the end had shrugged and nodded his compliance. The young Kelownan was currently across the square, hobnobbing with the gentry under Jack's watchful eye. Carter was off somewhere with Teal'c tracking down some freaky energy reading that had her all hyper with scientific joy.

Jack glanced around, taking in the ambience. It seemed to be a cross between ski resort chic, and Mediterranean siesta laid back. The architecture reminded him a lot of Aspen, but the folks were all dressed in colorful serapes and loose fitting pants decorated with ornate braiding.

The people didn't seem to believe in birth control, either. There were kids everywhere, of all shapes, sizes and colors. There seemed to be a preponderance of boys, but for all Jack knew, the girls could all be at ballet class or something.

When they first arrived on the planet, Jack had been concerned by the number of boys sporting what looked like Jaffa tattoos on their foreheads. But according to what Jonas had interpreted, they were just kids playing out stories and legends their parents told, like Jack himself had played cowboy when he was a kid.

Jack gazed indolently at a group of four or five boys, probably all around five years of age. They were playing some kind of complicated game with a ball, and what looked like a warped Tupperware container. Notwithstanding his caution, to see the young children laughing and playing without care lifted his weary heart.

Despite that, when Jonas suddenly stiffened, Jack was instantly alert. The two guys the kid was talking to seemed to be trying to reassure him, but Jonas was questioning them urgently. His spidey sense tingling, Jack stood up and took a firmer grasp on his P90. He strolled with feigned nonchalance over to where Jonas was looking up at the large shiny decorative balls that were a feature of every rooftop, fear clear in his eyes.

"Jonas?"

"Colonel! We've got to get Teal'c out of here!"

"What? Why?"

The Kelownan was definitely agitated now. Flicking on his radio, he called out, "Teal'c! Head for the gate! Now!" Turning to his bemused commander, he said, "Ma'chello. Colonel, Ma'chello gave these people a Goa'uld killer."

"Crap." Jack turned on his own radio. "Carter, Teal'c come in."

Sam Carter's voice sounded through the radio. "Sir? What's up?"

"Ma'chello's been here. You and Teal'c hightail it for the gate. Jonas and I will meet you there."

Several frowning townsfolk were crowded around Jonas, trying to find out what the problem was, and the young man was speaking to them in a calm soothing voice. Jack had no time for it, though, and grabbed the Kelownan by the arm, pulling him along as he boogied for the gate.

Ma'chello was a name he could have gladly gone the rest of his life not hearing again. The little old creep had the right idea in his desire to rid the universe of the snakes, but he hadn't had a great track record as far as SG1 was concerned. Their last brush with the man had almost lost Teal'c his life, and Daniel his sanity.

Jack and Jonas trotted along in silence. The gate was less than a kilometer beyond the outskirts of the little village, and Jack only started to relax when the big naquadah circle became visible through the trees. When they reached the small clearing, Jack nodded to the DHD. "Dial it up."

As Jonas moved to dial Earth, Jack clicked his radio. "Carter, Teal'c, where are you?"

When Sam Carter responded, her tone grim, Jack's stomach twisted. "Sir, I can't find Teal'c. He was covering my back. I turned a corner, and he never came around. I went back, and all I could find was his staff weapon."

"Damn it." Jack swore. Jonas stopped dialing and came to stand by the officer. Suddenly angry, Jack turned on the young man. "Did I tell you to stop dialing? Get over there and dial it up, and get your ass back through the gate."

Jonas shook his head. "Colonel, you need me here. I…"

"No, I need you to get through the gate. Carter and I will take care of this."

"How? How can you take care of it, when you don't even understand the language? With guns? Colonel, these people aren't monsters. Ma'chello gave them a gift to help them survive. Please sir, you need me here."

Jack hated insubordination, but he wasn't beyond reason. As with Daniel, when Jonas made a clear logical point, Jack listened, albeit grudgingly. "All right, but the first sign of trouble, I want you out of there, got it?"

Heaving a sigh of relief, Jonas responded, "Yes, sir."

Jack reflected sadly that at least the Kelownan had the 'sir' part down. With a gesture, Jack got moving, Jonas jogging at his side. With a wave of irritation, he gritted, "And get your sidearm out, damn it."

"Sir…" the Kelownan started, only to be cut off by a glare from O'Neill. Meekly, he pulled the gun, paused to check the breech, then trotted to catch up, the gun held down and away as he'd been trained.

The two men reached the one street of the village, and found Sam Carter waiting there for them, Teal'c's staff weapon in one hand. White-faced, she said, "Sir, I don't know what happened. He was only a few steps behind me. We were out of each other's sight for less than a second."

"Don't worry about it, major. We'll find him." Jack said, despite the little worm of fear crawling around in his gut.

"It has something to do with those silver balls." Jonas said quietly, his eyes on the rooftop decorations.

Sam frowned. "I checked those balls out. They have no palpable energy reading, and they aren't hooked up to anything that I could see. Are you sure, Jonas?"

"Yes. I was asking the headman about them and he said that they were a gift from a benefactor. Then he said the benefactor was Ma'chello, and I didn't wait to hear anymore."

Jack was torn between getting the intel he desperately needed and starting an immediate search for his friend and comrade. Apparently sensing the conflict, Jonas spoke up. "Sir, I don't think that we're in any danger. None of us have symbiotes, and it seems clear that it's only Goa'uld and Jaffa who are affected. You and the major can go look for Teal'c while I go talk to the people and find out what happened."

Jack pushed down a surge or irritation at the remark. Jonas always sounded reasonable even when the situation demanded rage. "Get this through your head. We are in a hostile situation here, Jonas, and we will proceed under those rules of engagement. We are not splitting up."

The Kelownan apparently knew when he was fighting a losing battle, because he simply nodded, saying meekly, "Yes, sir.

With both Jonas and Carter awaiting his decision, Jack considered his options. With no clear understanding of what happened, they were working in the dark, but on the other hand, Jack had a sense that time was of the essence. He refused to believe it was already too late, but he couldn't afford to waste what little time the big Jaffa had. Coming to his decision, he strode off toward the village square. "Move it, people, we need to know what the hell Ma'chello's done this time."

Jonas trotted to catch up, but Carter fell back, covering their six. "Did you not hear me, Quinn? This is a hostile situation. We do not gather into a neat little package for the enemy to eliminate in one shot, understand? Move to the other side of the street."

Jonas looked as if he'd argue, but then simply did as he was told. With his team in good order, Jack proceeded down the muddy lane, P90 gripped in the ready position. When they reached the square, Jack immediately noticed that most of the townsfolk had disappeared. The local honcho was deep in an animated discussion with several decidedly upset looking men.

When one of the men noticed SG1, a cry of what seemed to be relief went up, and despite Jack's threatening stance, they all hurried over. The men converged on Jonas, anxiously calling out what were obviously questions. The Kelownan raised a hand to get silence, then turned to the headman, and did some questioning of his own.

Jack tried to wait patiently as Jonas worked to understand the situation, but his need to get to Teal'c finally boiled over. "Jonas? I need answers now."

Jonas looked up, a crease of worry in his forehead. "I need a few more minutes, sir. One thing I have gotten is that whatever this thing does, it doesn't kill the Jaffa, only the symbiote."

As the young man turned back to his discussion, Carter leaned in, speaking quietly, "Sir, even if it only kills the symbiote, Teal'c can only survive a short time without it."

"I'm aware of that, Carter." Jack gritted his teeth over his terse reply. If it was only Junior that died, they'd find a way to replace it. But if it was only Junior, why was Teal'c missing?

Jack felt his stomach knot as Jonas' eyes widened, and his voice went up a notch in apparent surprise. The kid started looking around the square for something, and the headman put a hand on his arm making assurances.

"Jonas?"

With a pained look on his face, Jonas reported. "Colonel, all those kids that were playing Jaffa? They weren't playing, they were Jaffa."

"What? What are you saying?"

"Sir, apparently some time ago, Ma'chello came to this world to hide out from an ashrak. The people of this village had suffered from a terrible plague, but they welcomed Ma'chello and hid him away. When Ma'chello realized that the ashrak would report this world as unclaimed to his master, he came up with a machine to both protect the people, and help them recover the population that the plague had decimated." Shaking his head in wonder, Jonas continued. "Colonel, this machine causes Jaffa and their symbiotes to regress in age to before the prim'tah ceremony. The symbiote disappears, and Jaffa ends up as a child."

Colonel Jack O'Neill blinked his eyes. "What?"

"Sir, Teal'c's been turned into a child. Probably between four and five years of age according to these people." Jonas Quinn shrugged apologetically.

As far as Jack could tell, he was confident of his translation, but Jack couldn't quite believe it. Jonas had a gullible streak a mile wide. "You do realize that is impossible, right?"

Sam Carter intervened, saying quietly, "Sir, so is a mind switching machine."

That gave O'Neill pause. In their first run-in with the devious Goa'uld-hating Ma'chello, Daniel had his body stolen from him by the elderly scientist. In the course of figuring out the problem, Jack had played musical bodies with Daniel, Teal'c and even Ma'chello himself.

Glaring at Sam, he said, "All right, okay, but are you sure that's what happened? Even if he turned into a rugrat, Teal'c would still report to me if he could."

Apparently surprised at that idea, Jonas nodded, and turned back to the headman. After another few minutes, he nodded and said, "According to Esriat, the Jaffa's minds regress along with their bodies, and they only remember what they knew at the age they regress to. Sir, apparently Ma'chello designed the machine to take them back to an age before they even start their preliminary training. The people here are raising them to be citizens of this world."

"But that's not going to work," said Carter, shaking her head. "The Jaffa have been genetically manipulated to require a symbiote to survive. When these children hit puberty, they're all going to die."

Jonas turned back to say something to the headman, when Jack stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Let's not open up that can of worms just yet."

Jonas frowned, apparently not familiar with the phrase, but Carter said, "Sir, we have to tell them. They have to know what will happen."

Jonas nodded, still frowning. Jack shook his head. "We need to keep on task here, people. Find Teal'c, figure out how to reverse this, and then we'll worry about these people."

Carter moved uneasily. "Sir, how are we going to find him? There must be two to three hundred kids around here."

"Jonas, find out what they do when they get a new recruit."

"Yes sir." The Kelownan turned back to the headman, and entered into a short discussion that ended with the headman shrugging and shaking his head.

"Well?"

"Uh, well, sir, apparently they've never had just a single transformation. In the past, there have been full squads of Jaffa coming through the gate. When that happens, the children are rounded up and put in a dormitory until they adjust, then they are adopted out to the various families in the village. The last group came through a little over four months ago, and they're still living in the dormitory. Esriat says one new face isn't going to stand out."

"Yes, but he remembers his name, right? We'll just have to ask around until we find him." Sam said, her worried frown belying the confidence of her words.

Jack looked around, noticing that where earlier there had been scads of kids, now there were none. "So, where did all the mini-Jaffas go?"

Jonas looked around, and then posed the question to the headman. With a gesture, the man led the way, SG1 following. It was only a walk of a few minutes to reach the far end of the village, where a large barn-like structure rose up out of a field. As they approached, they could clearly hear young voices in a happy babble of sound.

With a flourish, the headman opened the door and entered, SG1 on his heels. The babble paused as over fifty youngsters looked up from their lunch before turning back to their friends. Jack felt a sense of dismay. Almost all of these kids were black, and they all seemed to be about the same age.

"How are we going to find him?" Carter asked, her own dismay clear in her hushed tone.

"Um, look for the one with the gold tattoo?" Jonas ventured.

Jack felt a wash of relief. The answer, when pointed out, was obvious. The gold tattoo signifying a prime was a rare privilege conferred on only a very few Jaffa. Nodding, he gestured for Jonas and Carter to start their searches at the two long tables on either side, while he took the table in the middle.

As he peered at each child in his turn, Jack was struck by the calm confidence that even the youngest displayed. Most children at this age tended to be shy of strangers, but each of these little boys stared back at him without the slightest fear.

He just about reached the end of the line when Carter called out, "Sir! Over here!"

Jack's head popped up, and he strode over to see what Carter had found. When he got a good look at the child, his eyebrows climbed. There was no doubt that this was Teal'c, the gold snake tattoo on his forehead was unmistakable. But other than that, Jack would have never picked this scrawny little boy to be his hulking Jaffa friend. "Teal'c?"

The boy cocked his head but didn't reply. "Uh, sir, it'd be Tealac, not Teal'c."

"Oh. Right. Well, pick him up and let's get out of here."

"Sir?" Carter looked startled.

"Carter, we need to get him back to Doc Frasier at Stargate Command, pronto. At a guess, I'd say those tiny little legs aren't going to help him keep up."

"Sir, I don't think leaving is a good idea."

"Why? You hoping for a beauty treatment? Take a few years off?"

Sam grimaced her annoyance. "No sir, but I don't think this is something Janet can fix. We need to see if these people can help him."

"I think they've helped him quite enough, don't you?"

"Colonel, the people here aren't to blame for this," Jonas said warily.

"Yeah, I got that, but they didn't exactly warn us, now did they?"

Jonas looked down, unable to meet his commander's eye. "They thought we were his slaves. They didn't say anything, because they wanted to free us."

"Crap." Jack said it simply, with no heat. The situation was impossible. As much as he'd like to be angry, there was no one to be angry at. It was an accident, pure and simple. Jack stared as his comrade. Teal'c had been reduced to a slightly pudgy pre-schooler, sitting calmly eating his lunch, ignoring the fussing adults.

"I, uh…" Jonas started, then fell silent.

"What?" Jack snapped more harshly than he intended.

Jonas looked up, his eyes calm, "Sir, I disagree with Major Carter. I think we need to get Teal'c back to the infirmary as soon as possible."

Both Jack and Sam stared at the young man. Jonas had almost always sided with Sam in discussions. She recovered first, shaking her head. "Jonas, there is very little that Janet could do in a situation like this. If there is any chance to reverse this, it's going to be here. Sir, you know as well as I, Ma'chello is not infallible. Both times we've run into his work, we've been able to reverse the effects, but only by studying and understanding the equipment."

"There's more at stake here that just Teal'c, Major. You said it yourself, all of these children are doomed to die when they reach puberty. Doctor Frasier might not be able to reverse the effects, but maybe with enough time, she can come up with a solution to the genetic manipulation."

"Jonas, we've had whole teams working on that problem since we first realized that Teal'c's son Ry'ac was at risk. I know that we are so far ahead of Kelowna that it looks like magic to you, but the truth is, we're no closer to solving the problem than we were five years ago."

Jonas shook his head, and opened his mouth to reply, but Jack stopped him by holding up a finger. "Kids, we can argue this at home. Carter, I take your point, but we can send a geek squad back here to follow up on reversing this. Meantime, I want Teal'c somewhere safe, where we can keep an eye on him. Jonas, grab him, and let's get out of here."

Jack started to turn away, but turned back at the pained look on the Kelownan's face. "Jonas?"

"Uh, sir, I, uh… don't get along with children well."

Jack resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. "You don't have to play pattycake with him. Just pick him up and move."

With a sigh, Jonas went over to the little boy, and put a hand on his shoulder. With an angry gesture, Teal'c swatted the hand away growling something in Goa'uld that had Jonas backing away. Eyes flicking up at Jack's questioning look, Jonas said unhappily, "Uh, sir, he said if I touch him again, his father will rip out my heart."

With frustrated patience, Jack responded, "His father has been dead for over 90 years, I think you're safe."

Jonas shook his head, unhappy, but it was Carter who replied, "Sir, as far as Teal'c is concerned, his father is not dead. I don't think we want to burden him with that knowledge right now."

"Did I say anything about telling him? We need to get going, and we aren't leaving without him, so, once again, Jonas, pick… him… up." Jack's tone brooked no disobedience.

With a sigh, Jonas once again approached the child, this time speaking Goa'uld in a low calming tone. He reached out his hand, inviting Teal'c to take it, but the Jaffa had a look of inscrutable disdain. It was a look that Jack was intimately familiar with, and any doubts he had to the child's identity evaporated.

Having listened to Jonas' remarks, the downsized Jaffa calmly turned his back and resumed eating. Jonas turned with a helpless look to his commander, but Jack just nodded for the Kelownan to get on with the job. Jack didn't feel any inclination to say anything out loud, because he didn't want to let on how much he was enjoying this improbable confrontation.

With a look of determination, Jonas finally stepped up and bodily picked Teal'c up, turning the boy in his arms so they were face-to-face. Jonas said something in a firmly parental tone of voice, and suddenly Teal'c moved.

It happened so quickly that Jack couldn't say with any assurance exactly what had happened. One moment the two were face to face, Teal'c dangling at arm's length from Jonas' hands, and the next, Jonas was flat on the ground with one arm twisted up behind his back, and a knife at his throat.

Without thinking, Jack swung his P90 up to protect his teammate. In the next moment, he realized that they were both his teammates. He started forward, saying in his best command voice, "Teal'c, that's enough."

The Jaffa's head swung, but the knife never wavered. In a squeaky kid's voice that nevertheless dripped with contempt, Teal'c spoke. Frowning Jack stopped, more because of the blood that suddenly formed where the knifepoint was pressed against Jonas' throat, than his lack of Gou'ald vocabulary.

The situation was ludicrous. Jonas was neither weak, nor small, yet there he was, held down by this really tiny kid with table cutlery. At a momentary impasse, Jack paused to consider his next move. Sam Carter stepped forward and crouched down to get to Teal'c's eye level. Smiling, she said something to the boy in Goa'uld, which made Jack feel left out.

Teal'c was having none of it, and with the suddenness of a snake, flashed the knife toward Carter's face before bringing it just as suddenly back to Jonas' throat. Sam, for her part, flinched back just in time to avoid a nasty cut. She abruptly stood back up looking over at Jack with wide eyes. He smirked, "You sweet talker, you."

Under the circumstances, she didn't smile, but just looked over at the tableau before them. One thing to be thankful for, none of the other kids showed any inclination to interfere. In fact, most of them had gone on eating, then leaving when done.

Teal'c jabbered something, and Jack waited for the translation. Jonas, however, seemed to have gone mute. Peeved, but not really worried, Jack asked, "Jonas, what the hell did he say this time?"

The Kelownan licked his lips and said quietly, "He says his father is the First Prime of the mighty god, Cronus, and no filthy human slave can touch him. He says my life is forfeit, and if you don't leave immediately, yours is forfeit too."

Jack felt Carter stiffen beside him. As hard as it was to take a five-year-old seriously, Jack realized that Jonas could land up badly damaged if the situation wasn't handled delicately. With sudden inspiration, Jack asked, "Carter, have you got a mirror?"

"Sir?"

"A mirror, Carter, a mirror."

Puzzled but compliant, Sam reached into an inside pocket of her tac vest and pulled out a small oblong. Holding it out, she said, "Here, sir. What are you going to do?"

Taking the mirror, he crouched down with his old protesting knees, and held the mirror so Teal'c could see. "Jonas, ask him if Cronus is so great, why is he wearing the mark of Apophis?"

Even before Jonas could translate, Jack could see the uncertainty creep into the boy's eyes. Apparently it translated down somehow to Jonas, because with a sudden move, the Kelownan rolled out from under the threat, pinning the child, and kicking the knife away.

His eyebrows up on his forehead, Jack admired the move. "Impressive."

With a grin, Jonas nodded at his small squirming captive. "Teal'c taught me."

Nodding Jack ordered, "All right, play time's over. Let's go."

Jonas picked up the still struggling child, and held him close to his chest to pin the small arms. It was a bad move. Almost as soon as Jack opened his mouth to warn Jonas of the danger, Teal'c struck out, kicking the Kelownan right in the crotch. With a pained squeak and his eyes flying open in surprise, Jonas dropped Teal'c who scampered away, before falling straight to the ground, curling up with his hands on his injured parts.

"Carter, catch him." Jack said as he moved to his teammate's side. Once again he crouched down, asking with sympathy, "You okay there, Jonas?"

Breathing through his mouth, the Kelownan smiled weakly, "Just another first, sir."

Smiling, Jack nodded. "You ready to get up?"

"Uh, if it's all the same to you, sir, I think I'll just stay here for awhile."

Patting the young man on the shoulder, Jack stood up, saying, "This too shall pass."

"I'll take your word for it, Colonel."

Jack stood patient guard over his downed teammate, watching as the lunchroom gradually cleared out. Eventually, Jonas sat up, rubbing at his throat. When he saw Jack reaching out his hand, he grabbed it and let the officer pull him to his feet.

The Kelownan couldn't stand quite straight. At Jack's questioning glance, he said casually, "I heard a song on the radio the other day. It kind of fits the situation. It went, 'you don't pull on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger.' And, I have to add, you don't pick up a Jaffa., even though it doesn't rhyme."

"I have to agree with that." Both men turned to see Sam Carter approaching, definitely looking the worse for wear.

"Carter, is that a shiner I see?"

"Yes, sir. He decked me. He might be a little kid, but he's no pushover."

Jack found himself oddly comforted by the fact that Teal'c was tough even as a pre-schooler. Realizing that capturing the tiny menace had fallen to him, he shook his head. "You two head back to the gate. I'll go get Godzilla the Early Years and catch up."

"Maybe we should zat him." Jonas ventured.

"Or I could head back and get a trank gun." Carter said questioningly.

Somewhat taken aback by his team's willingness to drop a little kid, Jack cut off that line of reasoning with a quick head shake. "Did either of you two hear me? It wasn't a request. Now, get going."

The brain trust of SG1 looked at each other, then Jonas shrugged as if to say, 'he'll see.' Carter frowned. "Sir, I'd like to stay and help, if I may."

Sighing, Jonas nodded. "Me too, sir. You still might need me to translate."

"I don't need you to translate 'die, human scum, die." Jack opined. "And I want Frasier to be ready when I bring him in. Go."

Not happy, but not willing to push, Carter turned away and headed for the door. After a pause, Jonas followed. Satisfied that his orders would be obeyed, Jack trailed behind, checking the rest of the dormitory in case the kid had doubled back.

Satisfied that Teal'c hadn't slipped into some hidey hole, Jack left the building. Spying Jonas and Carter across the way chatting with some old geezer, Jack felt his temper flare. Striding over to them, he barked, "Hey! Did I not tell you two to get to the gate?"

Both teammates jumped satisfactorily at the harsh tone. Jonas made appeasing gestures, "Colonel, I think we've found the answer."

"What?"

"Sir, this man says he can reverse the process." Carter said, firmly. Jack could see both the hope and uncertainty in her eyes.

"He can? Well, what the hell are we waiting for?" Jack replied, relief flooding him.

"Sir, it's not that simple." Carter responded uneasily.

"Why isn't it? Does it work or not?"

"According to Elder Mebilum here, if the reversal is done within the first twelve hours, it will be totally effective, but…"

"No buts, Jonas. Carter, where did you last see him? Let's get him fixed and get the hell out of here."

"Colonel, please." Jonas said firmly. He turned to the geezer and quietly said something. The old man grinned and lifted up the bangs covering his forehead. To Jack's surprise, the forehead bore the faded but distinct tattoo of a Jaffa. Nodding his thanks, Jonas turned back to O'Neill. "Ma'chello is better than we thought, sir. The process that de-ages the Jaffa also corrects the genetic manipulation. I had assumed that Ma'chello had visited this planet recently, but in truth, it was a couple of generations ago. Most of these people are either Jaffa or descendents of Jaffa,"

Jack listened, not liking where this was leading. He asked the question, even though he suspected he knew the answer. That's nice, but so what?"

It was Carter who answered. "Sir, Teal'c is free of the symbiote. He can live his life never having to know the feel of a parasite living in his abdomen. Is it right to reverse it?"

"On the other hand, it's the symbiote that gives the Jaffa their longevity and good health. Mabilum here is barely sixty, and he looks one hundred."

"We can give them access to better nutrition and medicine."

"Yes, but…"

"Enough!" Jack cut the discussion short. He hated ethical dilemmas, but he knew instinctively what his answer had to be. "Jonas, tell Malibu to get the sea monkey tank ready. Carter, you're with me. We're going to find Teal'c and reverse this."

"Yes, sir!" The alacrity with which the two teammates chimed their response told Jack that they were both relieved at his answer, ethical questions aside.

Jonas turned to the elder as Jack and Carter headed up the street, determined to locate their teammate. They hadn't gone more than a few yards before Jonas called them back. "Colonel! You don't have to look for him. Elder Mabilum says Teal'c's already been taken to the Hall of Reconciliation."

Jack turned back, Carter next to him, and saw the old man beckoning. With a nod of his head, Jack gestured, "Lead on, MacDuff."

The old man tottered away. Jack watched him move, with the sudden realization that he wasn't all that much older than Jack himself. It was a stark reminder of the advantages of living on an advanced world. He supposed that Teal'c had had that realization also. As 'advanced' as he liked to think Earth was, there were very few who made it to one hundred years of age, and as far as he knew, none of them could bench-press a Buick. He suppressed the sudden sense of loss. He'd lost one friend to ethical dilemmas. He wasn't going to lose another.

The old man led the way to a stone hut indistinguishable from any other on the street. Holding open the door, the old man smiled, gesturing for SG1 to precede him. Ducking under the low lintel, Jack had a firm grip on his P90. His suspicious mind told him that no one in their right minds named a stone hut a hall.

He straightened up to find himself in a room that was longer than the façade advertised, but not all that much longer. At the far end of the room was a rat's nest of mismatched science-y looking stuff. In the middle was a raised metal platform, with a decidedly cranky mini-Jaffa strapped securely down.

Looking over the scene, Jack said facetiously, "Jonas, ask Igor if we're going to have to wait for lightning."

Confused, Jonas asked, "Sir?"

Jack just shook his head, watching as the old man tottered over to a bank of instruments and flipped a switch. "Just ask Malibu how long this is going…"

There was a flash of light, and pop of displaced air, and where the furiously struggling child had been, Teal'c now rested.

After a pause, Jack quipped, "Never mind… T! Buddy! How you doing?"

Teal'c took in his surroundings and with great dignity asked, "O'Neill. Why have I been disrobed?"

Several hours later, SG1 was making its way back to the gate, Carter and Jonas trailing behind Jack and Teal'c.

Jack kept glancing over at the tall Jaffa, who had been quiet, even for him. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Teal'c looked over, an eyebrow cocked.

"It means I want to know what you're thinking. Are you okay with us reversing this thing? I mean, you could have been free of your symbiote forever."

Perhaps sensing his commander's uncertainty, Teal'c replied, "Do not concern yourself, O'Neill. It is true that I would have been freed, but the price of that freedom I am not willing to pay."

"Price? What price?"

Teal'c looked Jack straight in the eye. "I fight for the freedom of all Jaffa, not just the few of this planet. I am a warrior, O'Neill. I will fight until the battle is won."

Jack nodded. "Okay. Just making sure."

Apparently satisfied that he had sufficiently explained himself, Teal'c inclined his head and walked on. Behind them, Jonas suddenly asked Carter, "Major, what's a sea monkey?"

"It's… actually, I don't know. My parents wouldn't let me have them when I was a kid."

"When you were a kid?"

"Yeah. They were advertised as a science project for children. You bought the tank, filled it with water, put in the sea monkeys, and they would grow and live in the tank."

"Oh. Okay." Jonas was quiet for a few minutes, then asked, "Major, what's Godzilla?"

"Oh, now that I can answer! Godzilla was one of the great Japanese movie monsters. I have it on DVD. I'll bring it in, so you can see it. It's great."

"Thanks, Major, I appreciate it."

The four teammates reached the gate, and Carter dialed home. She and Jonas walked through the gate, and Jack went to follow, but paused when he realized Teal'c had not moved. "T?"

"O'Neill, in what context did JonasQuinn learn of these sea monkeys? And Godzilla?"

His mouth suddenly dry, Jack swallowed hard. "Uh, not sure. Probably something he heard around the base."

Teal'c said nothing, his look more eloquent than words. Unaccountably nervous, Jack smiled. "Let's head home, big guy. Didja notice that Jonas was limping? Well, lemme tell you about it…"

And together the two teammates walked through the gate.

The end.


End file.
